The Only Thing You Really Need to Start a Meditation Practice

On most days, I sit for my daily meditation practice at the end of my morning workout, in the place where I was exercising. Most often, that means I sit in the gym on the stretching mat. Instead of a meditation cushion, I usually sit perched on a foam roller.

As I sit, I feel the vibrations of the woman next to me doing jumping lunges or the heavy thud of a dropped weight. I hear the music blaring in the background, the sounds of people talking and weights clanging. I smell the sweat.

This scene does not fit the typical image of meditation practice. It isn’t what you’d expect to see on Instagram or Pinterest. No candles or perfectly-placed meditation cushion in a pristine, quiet corner of my home.

I don’t even own a meditation cushion. In fact, right now I don’t have a home either.

That’s the beauty of my setup. It’s works anywhere. My cushion can be a block in a yoga studio, a park bench, a chair, a rock, or the sand.

Perhaps that’s how I’ve managed to build a daily practice that, as of today, has continued for 1168 days without interruption.

Wherever I am, I carve out the time to sit, find a place, and settle in. Although I use the Calm app daily for guidance, I also sit for meditation without the app.

It turns out that the things that most people think you need to have a meditation practice aren’t really that essential. The cushion and the candles are nice to have, but not necessary.

Here’s what you do need: a willingness to create the space for yourself to sit.

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